378 replies to this topic

[North Shore]

How the mighty have fallen.

 

Victoria, once home to:

• a truly world class Provincial museum
• one of the most scholarly maritime museums in North America, one well situated in an original Provincial Courthouse - in an historic City square

... now has neither.

 

Combine that with an art gallery containing one of the most complete Emily Carr collections on earth, and one of the most amazing Asian art collections in North America ... that's located in a space it outgrew a quarter of a century ago.

 

Throw in a couple of theaters that haven't seen any increase in funding or support since the '90's.

 

Welcome tourists and visitors!! ... wait to you see what Victoria has for you ..... oooops, we don't actually have anything for you but overpriced trinket, t-shirt, and fudge/ice-cream shops (and there's an excellent chance you'll be violently assaulted as you eat your ice cream cone.

 

Sorry about that ... maybe in 8 years (more likely in a decade) we'll have something for you to see, and/or do!

Yes, but the homeless have homes tents; drug addicts have treatment locations unsafe injection sites; we acknowledge that we live on stolen conquered land; we recognise 1001 different types of genders and sexualities, and every last one of us has access to decent, timely medical care...

Edited by North Shore, 14 May 2022 - 11:46 AM.

[max.bravo]

Hey at least we get free hard drugs to help us cope. And no stigma anymore thanks to the province’s marketing campaigns.

I don’t think the maritime museum should partner up with RBCM, if that were an option. Actual interesting “colonial” history would lose out to woke FN virtue signaling. Keep them separate

[Victoria Watcher]

Victoria’s Bateman Gallery moving from Steamship Terminal home

 

Foundation aims to ‘inspire thousands of global visitors’ with new location after 10 years

 

https://www.vicnews....-terminal-home/

 

 

 

 

 

 

While searching for that dream location, the foundation is working with the City of Victoria and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure on approving a temporary space swap with the Maritime Museum of B.C. at 774 Douglas St. This plan is “enthusiastically” supported by the museum, which has an active proposal to permanently move into the Steamship Terminal, said their president of the board of directors, Jamie Webb.

[Victoria Watcher]

Webb said they would be willing to be flexible to operate through the coming Belleville Terminal project. The province is planning a $220-million to $290-million new facility accommodating both the Clipper passenger ferry and Coho car ferry operations, along with the Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs.

 

“We do want to get a toehold in the building,” Webb said, noting the ultimate goal would be to eventually occupy all of the Steamship building, which currently has a café and restaurant as tenants.

 

“I know that for the last 11 years, the business model in the building hasn’t worked. It’s underperformed. They’ve gone through a string of tenants and landlords, including the [Greater Victoria Harbour Authority], which gave the keys back just over a year ago,” said Webb. “I think it’s only fair that the Maritime Museum gets a shot at it.

 

“And we have the largest collection of CPR Steamship memorabilia in the country, so we could build something really spectacular to start with on that second floor.”

 

Webb said they are not asking for funding from the province, as they have capital to build out an exhibit in the space, but they are asking for favourable lease terms.

 

“We’re not asking to be in there for free, but we do need favourable terms that would allow us to survive and thrive in there, which is what nobody else has managed to do,” Webb said.

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...-places-6414539

[Victoria Watcher]

Comment: From idea to reality: The maritime museum's long, long voyage

 

 

Finally, the Steamship Terminal as a home:

 

The role of the museum is to collect, preserve and interpret. There is a lot to recommend the Steamship Terminal for its interpretive gallery potential.

 

But a modern museum requires almost as much space to house its archives, artifact collections, preservation lab, library, classroom etc.

 

The storage of archival material and artifacts require a controlled environment — something the old Law Courts Building did not have, but a new facility must in order to meet international standards.

 

To achieve this, a modern building would need to be built, hopefully adjacent to the Steamship Terminal.

 

The Steamship Terminal has always been a mystical isle just beyond the horizon, a sort of fata morgana. To make it a reality will cost a lot of money.

 

In 2009, the museum’s professional staff and former RBCM director Bill Barkley estimated the construction and fitting out of a new purpose-built facility at between $60 million and $80 million, based on museum standards available. I have no idea what the annual professional staffing and operational costs would be today.

 

The cost of building, fitting out plus annual costs tell me that a new Maritime Museum of the Pacific is only feasible under the direct auspices of the provincial government.

 

 

 

https://www.timescol...-voyage-6490715

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 06 February 2023 - 05:58 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

The future of the gallery remains unclear, though the board remains hopeful it will find an interim home somewhere in downtown Victoria. The Bateman Gallery says it attracts roughly 15,000 visitors and 2,000 students annually.

Tentative plans to relocate to the Victoria Conference Centre, and into the current home of the Maritime Museum of B.C., are no longer feasible for a variety of financial reasons, according to the board.

The Maritime Museum of B.C. was looking to move into the Bateman Gallery’s former home inside the CPR Steamship Terminal, but is no longer considering that a possibility, according to museum chair Jamie Webb.


https://www.timescol...erminal-6576492

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 17 February 2023 - 08:42 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

TC today (Jeff Bell):

 

 

Plans to move to the current location of the Maritime Museum of B.C. in the footprint of the Victoria Conference Centre were called off for financial reasons.

 

As for museum officials, they are looking to move into the Bateman Gallery’s spot and finally get the waterfront home they have sought for some time.

 

https://www.timescol...gallery-6579107

 

 

 

TC yesterday (Mike Devlin):

 

The Maritime Museum of B.C. was looking to move into the Bateman Gallery’s former home inside the CPR Steamship Terminal, but is no longer considering that a possibility, according to museum chair Jamie Webb.

 

https://www.timescol...erminal-6576492

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 February 2023 - 04:34 PM.

[Nparker]

Does anyone really know what is going on with the Maritime Museum?

[Victoria Watcher]

UPDATE!

 

 

OK, TC changed their article yesterday, after I pulled that quote above.   It now reads:

 

 

 

 

The Maritime Museum of B.C. is looking to move into the Bateman Gallery’s former home inside the CPR Steamship Terminal, but does not yet have a deal in place with the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, which took control of the building in 2021, according to museum chair Jamie Webb.

 

“The Maritime Museum regrets the Bateman gallery’s departure from the downtown cultural scene at a time when we need more attractions for visitors, not less,” Webb said. “[The museum] continues to have discussions with the Ministry of Transportation on the future use of the Steamship Building.”

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 February 2023 - 04:52 PM.

[Nparker]

Winston Smith hard at work at the TC as usual.

[Mike K.]

I had a cat named Winston Smith.

[Nparker]

Do you keep him/her in room 101?

[Mike K.]

Kitty's no longer with us, I'm afraid.

[aastra]

 

Do you keep him/her in room 101?

 

He keeps his dalmatians in room 101. Duh. And he keeps his red balloons in room 99. (His blue balloons are in room 98.)

 

When you've got a mansion the size of Mike K.'s place, it can be a challenge to find a purpose for each room.

[Mike K.]

A challenge? I don't think so. A room without a stated purpose is just de-facto storage.

[aastra]

I meant an artistic challenge. Obviously you wouldn't have dozens of rooms devoted to coloured balloons if it was just a matter of storage. If it was just a matter of storage then you would be storing the balloons in the balloon storage sheds on the back part of your compound.

[Nparker]

Surely the red balloons only need to be stored when they're not floating in the summer sky?

[Mike K.]

Due to supply chain issues, you’d be surprised at just how difficult it is to source only blue balloons. And don’t discount the labour to inflate them.

[Matt R.]

He keeps his dalmatians in room 101. Duh. And he keeps his red balloons in room 99. (His blue balloons are in room 98.)
 
When you've got a mansion the size of Mike K.'s place, it can be a challenge to find a purpose for each room.

Las time he said he was going camping for the weekend, he meant he was just moving into the north wing of the campus.